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September 03, 2013

The View From The Balcony...

[image: Balcony&Plants, 2013, JA Van Devender]

Location: Annapolis, MD.

Revelation 20:12 (NKJV)

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

A balcony provides perspective... a vantage point from which to view the world outside the security of the home... a place of fresh air, ideally situated above the hustle and bustle and smoggy fumes on the street below... you know... perspective.

Such is the function of apocalyptic prophecy as with the verse quoted. It gives us a perspective, a vantage point, a place where we can breathe clean fresh air for a moment, a place to reassure our soul as we stand, at least temporarily, above the fray.

Beneath this balcony the world is chaotic, it appears to have gone mad, the tenuous grip of civilization appears to crumble round and about. Things are just crazy as all that once seemed so stable and secure is revealed as anything but. Leaders who bluster and smile but who are stumbling in confusion. Wild swings of economic indicators that find no common ground for reconciliation with the prevailing rates of employment or surging prices for goods. Wild forays into social initiatives of the most far reaching consequence without any philosophical or spiritual context in which to judge their merit or determine their due limits.

The absence of deliberation and prudence in legislative decrees and the scornful repudiation of principled adherence to external standards. The birthright of freedom surrendered for a bowl of porridge that promises security but cannot provide it. Salacious speech masquerading as wit and foolishness celebrated as wisdom.

And the prevailing self-delusion is the dismissive observation: "Twas ever thus.... it's no worse now than it has ever been."

Standing on the porch... or on the wall as did Habakkuk ... or on a high hill as did the Apostle John in his vision... we gain a different perspective. We see the reality of a "Book of Life", the record of not only a person's existence but the overall transcript of his life, that stands in testimony for or against him. We see the reality of an accounting in which not only the actions but the motives of men and women are compared to the righteousness of God, the holiness of God and the commands of God. We see judgment by works and salvation by grace... for everyone. We see that life has meaning and purpose and that the good that a person pursues is eternal even as the foolishness, evil and stupidity of man is finite and of only passing consequence. In this fresh air we see that the smog of confusion will be blown away by refreshing wind of God's life-giving breath.

Here we can pause... regain our perspective and go back down into the fray and do the good works that will stand for all eternity to the glory of our King.

Comments

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What you say sure encapsulates so much the news -- the chatter from below the balcony:"Wild forays into social initiatives of the most far reaching consequence without any philosophical or spiritual context in which to judge their merit or determine their due limits."

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